Unbreakable spirit of Porte
TASMANIANS can take great pride in the achievements of Tour de France star Richie Porte. Since the laid-back cyclist set off for Europe to seek his fame and fortune as a fresh-faced 24-year-old in 2009, he has remained proud of his island home.
Overnight he was set to climb on to the podium in Paris and fulfil a lifelong ambition in the world’s toughest road race, the Tour de France. In doing so he would become only the second Australian rider to achieve such a feat, behind Cadel Evans, who became the only Australian to have won the Tour when he saluted in Paris in 2011.
The boy from Launceston has such a tremendous fighting spirit that he has earned the nickname Tasmanian Devil in the cycling peloton.
Road cycling is a brutal and demanding sport which requires great physical fitness, tactical nous and enormous mental strength.
For the uninitiated, the Tour de France is a huge test for riders. This year’s event involves 3484.2km of riding across 21 stages over 23 days. And it’s not just along the flat. This year riders have had 29 big climbs and eight stages have been mountaintop finishes.
Even if everything goes well there are high winds, blistering temperatures, pouring rain and occasionally hail and snow to contend with.
Often things don’t go exactly to plan. Crashes are common and if you manage to avoid those, bikes can
THE BOY FROM LAUNCESTON HAS SUCH A TREMENDOUS FIGHTING SPIRIT THAT HE HAS EARNED THE NICKNAME TASMANIAN DEVIL IN THE CYCLING PELOTON
have mechanical breakdowns and punctures happen regularly. Predictably, Porte experienced a few hiccups in this year’s race, suffering a double puncture when he struck a pothole and in a critical mountain stage, was forced to ride nearly two kilometres on gravel with a front flat tyre until his team car caught up to give him a new bike. However, the diminutive Tasmanian fought back to regain the minutes lost to rivals and finish the day on equal footing.
It was typical of the 35-year-old’s resilience in a sport which is so unforgiving.
Delays in this year’s race because of COVID-19 meant Richie missed the birth of his second child, a daughter Eloise to his wife Gemma. Another mental test in the gruelling race.
Porte has overcome numerous setbacks during his cycling career, crashing out in consecutive years of the Tour. His high-speed crash in 2017 left him with a fractured pelvis, broken collarbone and shattered dreams. It would have been understandable if he’d given up but he has always returned to the bike.
Porte has earned millions from the sport and now lives in Monaco with his young family. But he has never forgotten his Tasmanian roots, proudly wearing a map of the state on a necklace during races and regularly returning home in the European winter.
Whenever he’s in the state he makes sure he shares images of Tassie with his many social media followers. It’s clear he still loves the place.
It would be easy for a skinny kid from Launceston to get ahead of himself, but Porte is known for his humility, always thanking his teammates after race successes. He has a friendly and easygoing manner which has gained him respect across the world.
Richie, you’ve done us proud.